Essential French Grammar: Teach Yourself

Brigitte Edelston, Robin Adamson

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781444130812
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Essential FrenchGrammar will help you get more out of your study of French. Essential French Grammar is an up-to-date introduction to French grammar. You don't need to know a lot about grammar before you start. Everything is explained simply and there are lots of examples to illustrate each point. Unlike more traditional grammars, Essential French Grammar is structured so that you can look up language forms according to what you want to say, even if you don't know the grammatical term for them. If you already know some grammar, then you can use the 'reference grammar' section at the back of the book to look up the points you need.The course consists of18 units illustrating the various uses to which the language can be put, for example, giving instructions or talking about the recent past. The more traditional reference grammar deals with grammatical structures, such as the imperative or the perfect tense. All grammatical terms are explained in the glossary at the back of the book. Each unit contains exercises for you to practice what you have learnt and there is a key at the back of the book for you to check your answers. The new page design in this edition means that the book is even easier to use and the main headings are in English so that you can find your way around the book quickly. This edition contains a 'taking it further' section which will direct you to further sources of real French. Essential French Grammar will help you to understand and manipulateFrench grammar with confidence because:
- you need no prior knowledge of grammatical terminology to use it;
- the approach is accessible and supportive;
- the examples are clear and in context;
- exercises help you practise every point.Now in a brand new edition with new, easy-to-follow page design and interactive on-line features: NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.END-OF-UNIT SUMMARIES AND ONLINE TESTS
Summaries and tests to help you keep track of your progress.EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of French.

1

Greetings and introductions

In this unit you will learn

• To introduce yourself/someone else
• Numbers to 100
• To greet people
• To talk about yourself/someone else
• To ask questions about someone (age, address, nationality, occupation, family circumstances)

Topic

• Meeting people

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Grammar

• Subject pronouns: je (I), tu (you), il (he), elle (she), on (one/we/they), nous (we), vous (you), ils/elles (they)
• Verbs: present tense of avoir (to have), être (to be)
• -er verbs: regular habiter (to live); irregular aller (to go)
• A reflexive verb: s’appeler (to be called)
• Using tu or vous?
• Asking questions
• The negative forms: ne … pas/n’ … pas (not)
• Stressed pronouns: moi, toi, lui/elle, nous, vous, eux/elles
• Gender

The next stage

• Expressions with avoir and être
• Changes in spelling of -er verbs
• Questions: inversion of verb and subject pronoun
• Gender rules and exceptions

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Getting started

So that you can say a little about yourself in French, it is important to learn some key verbs, such as avoir to have, être to be, habiter to live, s’appeler to be called and the subject pronouns (i.e. je I, tu you, il he, etc.). With a few numbers and a little vocabulary you are well on your way.

Say it in French

1 INTRODUCING YOURSELF/SOMEONE ELSE

Bonjour, je m'appelle Georges Lemaire.	Hello, my name is Georges Lemaire.
J'ai 46 ans.	I'm 46 years old.
J'habite St-Amand-les-Eaux.	I live in St-Amand-les-Eaux.
Je suis Georges.	I'm Georges.
Je vous présente ma famille.	This is my family.

2 NUMBERS TO 100

Here is a list of numbers to 100. Learn them at your own pace and refer to the list frequently.

Note that after 60, the French count in 20s: 70 is soixante-dix, 80 is quatre-vingts and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix.

0 zéro

1 un

2 deux

3 trois

4 quatre

5 cinq

6 six

7 sept

8 huit

9 neuf

10 dix

11 onze

12 douze

13 treize

14 quatorze

15 quinze

16 seize

17 dix-sept

18 dix-huit

19 dix-neuf

20 vingt

21 vingt et un

22 vingt-deux

23 vingt-trois

24 vingt-quatre

25 vingt-cinq

26 vingt-six

27 vingt-sept

28 vingt-huit

29 vingt-neuf

30 trente

31 trente et un

32 trente-deux …

40 quarante

41 quarante et un

42 quarante-deux …

50 cinqu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• Meet the authors
• Only got a minute?
• Only got five minutes?
• Only got ten minutes?
• Introduction
• 1 Greetings and introductions
• 2 Likes and dislikes
• 3 Describing people, things and routines
• 4 Making requests
• 5 Saying what you prefer
• 6 Saying what you are going to do
• 7 Saying who owns what
• 8 Permission and obligation
• 9 Directions, instructions and advice
• 10 Describing a sequence of events
• 11 Future plans and events
• 12 Orders and instructions
• 13 Talking about past events
• 14 Repeated actions in the past
• 15 Going back in the past
• 16 Wishes, probability and possibility
• 17 How you feel about something
• 18 Imagining what could happen
• Transcriptions – The story (Units 8–18)
• A quick check – Key
• Key irregular verbs in different tenses
• Glossary
• Index